CowboyDann

Here it was last month in june No comments from me because I was on vacation. I'll read through that after I'm done with the rest of the woot properties and see if there's not anything more I can add for you.

alan0123

This Woot Model Zmodo BRN-KDS8-OARCB22N is an Improvement
from previous Sold Models (like this one
http://www.woot.com/blog/post/zmodo-4-channel-surveillance-system

It has 2 DOME Camera, and 2 Bullet CAMERAS.
The former Ones Advertisd by Woot had Only 12 LED in the Camera and the Cameras hade 6mm Lens (which Gave a Narrow Field of View)
This One Has 3.6mm Lens (for Wider Angle View)

The Cameras also have 24 LEDS (an Extra 12 LEDs in should make a Big Difference for NITE Vision (you should be able to get About Twice as Much Distance(about 60 feet)

futurekill

Purchased one of these during the last wootoff. It's not worth the money at any price.

- The web interface appears to be IE-only. Haven't tried Safari, but does not work with Chrome, FFox or Opera.

- Very messy coding: Plug it in to a LAN and it ARPs between once every two seconds, and three times a second. Support has no idea why this is.

- Configure a DNS server in the network config and every two seconds it makes a request for www.server.cn . Nonstop. Endlessly. Checking any public DNS server this resolves to 127.0.0.1 . Support has no idea why this is.

- I added a hard drive, formatted it, installed two cameras, and set them to motion record. The system records 100% of the time, all 8 channels. Including 6 channels that have no cameras connected. Support has no idea why this is.

alan0123

alan0123

futurekill wrote:- I added a hard drive, formatted it, installed two cameras, and set them to motion record. The system records 100% of the time, all 8 channels. Including 6 channels that have no cameras connected. Support has no idea why this is.

Overall, it's a largely useless system.

DID you Try Disabling the Other 6 Cameras in the "MENU Settings" on the DVR ?
If Not it will Record the all 8 Channels. (even the Ones with no Cameras Attached)

thaburnin8or

I rather enjoy the system for the money. Ironically enough, had a break in at my business 2 days after installing it. Added a 2TB hard drive to it. It was disconnected and thrown into a ditch (took quite a tumble)was able to find it, plug it in and watch the whole incident as if never taken from me. (america's dumbest criminals, complete mosquito) Overall the system works very well. The cameras are of "good" video quality (for what I use them for in my business). I will say I was not able to get the Internet to work with it to allow viewing from home/phone/etc but only spent a couple hours with it...(not easy and as stated only IE that I am aware of. Will actually pick up another one to use in my other business. for $149.99 it's a pretty GREAT DEAL for basic office viewing. No experience with IR use but playing around worked VERY well in the dark drop ceiling during installation. BUT internet connecting... effin sux...although once working might be nice!

garyhgaryh

Interesting.. why would it have to connect to www.server.cn? I have two zmodo system I haven't set up yet.... worried about putting it on my network.

futurekill wrote:Purchased one of these during the last wootoff. It's not worth the money at any price.

- The web interface appears to be IE-only. Haven't tried Safari, but does not work with Chrome, FFox or Opera.

- Very messy coding: Plug it in to a LAN and it ARPs between once every two seconds, and three times a second. Support has no idea why this is.

- Configure a DNS server in the network config and every two seconds it makes a request for www.server.cn . Nonstop. Endlessly. Checking any public DNS server this resolves to 127.0.0.1 . Support has no idea why this is.

- I added a hard drive, formatted it, installed two cameras, and set them to motion record. The system records 100% of the time, all 8 channels. Including 6 channels that have no cameras connected. Support has no idea why this is.

tygrys

I had a issue shipping this item last time it was here, so ended up getting a similiar one, so can help some of you out with issues.

1. Zmodo has an app for android phones at least, not sure about iphone or windows. Just search google marketplace for Zviewer.

2. In regards to accessing the dvr via internet explorer..you have to make sure some activex settings in internet explorer are disabled, or rather are set up for prompting. Google "disable activex for dvr's" and you will find the solution.

futurekill

garyhgaryh wrote:Interesting.. why would it have to connect to www.server.cn? I have two zmodo system I haven't set up yet.... worried about putting it on my network.

Honestly, I don't know. The address resolves to 127.0.0.1, which is localhost, or loopback. Every device on this planet with an IP responds to 127.0.0.1 as "myself". So, every 2 seconds, this unit does a lookup on an address that resolves to its own local address. This is beyond any reasonable level of sanity, I've seen sloppy PBXs that spam networks with UDP packets for random reasons (mostly to find/talk to management consoles) but don't do this. Zmodo support has not responded to my requests about this. I think it's because either A) no one knows, or B) www.server.cn had some nefarious purpose previously and the TLD servers have re-mapped it to localhost, to keep any code in any product/app/malware from doing anything malicious. In either case, I don't suspect I'll hear back from Zmodo on this, or the massive ARPing issue.

jmackinac

futurekill wrote:Honestly, I don't know. The address resolves to 127.0.0.1, which is localhost, or loopback. Every device on this planet with an IP responds to 127.0.0.1 as "myself". So, every 2 seconds, this unit does a lookup on an address that resolves to its own local address. This is beyond any reasonable level of sanity, I've seen sloppy PBXs that spam networks with UDP packets for random reasons (mostly to find/talk to management consoles) but don't do this. Zmodo support has not responded to my requests about this....

I, for one, am extremely greatful for the time you guys have put in to make us aware of the problems with this system. I definitely will not be a buyer.

Woody1

alan0123 wrote:This Woot Model Zmodo BRN-KDS8-OARCB22N is an Improvement
from previous Sold Models (like this one
http://www.woot.com/blog/post/zmodo-4-channel-surveillance-system

It has 2 DOME Camera, and 2 Bullet CAMERAS.
The former Ones Advertisd by Woot had Only 12 LED in the Camera and the Cameras hade 6mm Lens (which Gave a Narrow Field of View)
This One Has 3.6mm Lens (for Wider Angle View)

The Cameras also have 24 LEDS (an Extra 12 LEDs in should make a Big Difference for NITE Vision (you should be able to get About Twice as Much Distance(about 60 feet)

I think Overall its a Good Deal (for the improvement in the Camera)

Not sure where to start but your THEORY about the IF emitters is wrong. The usable distance for these at night without any ambient light from a full moon is about 10 feet and if you have a reflective surface like your car you will get a 15' range with outlines of the car only. So when you mount this under the eve of your property you have already used have the distance it can see.
It's an 8 channel system with only 4 cameras. None have audio and PTZ For dome cameras ONLY) only works if you are logged into the DVR. They are also a better nesting ground for spiders and do not work at all well in the cold. Bullet cameras are built to fail.

eraie

Woody1 wrote:Not sure where to start but your THEORY about the IF emitters is wrong. The usable distance for these at night without any ambient light from a full moon is about 10 feet and if you have a reflective surface like your car you will get a 15' range with outlines of the car only. So when you mount this under the eve of your property you have already used have the distance it can see.
It's an 8 channel system with only 4 cameras. None have audio and PTZ For dome cameras ONLY) only works if you are logged into the DVR. They are also a better nesting ground for spiders and do not work at all well in the cold. Bullet cameras are built to fail.

Hmmm, in total complete darkness (indoors, totally dark garage, no light leakage), I'm able to set my camera around 30' back from the garage door, and I'm able to see. I put up a piece of striped cardboard on the garage door, and the IR is able to pick up the stripes. Granted, it's not a great image or well illuminated at the far end, but I can make out the contrast & shapes - I'd easily be able to make out a silhouette of a person or critter. On the closer end, up to around 20', I can make out the junk piled in the garage and could see quite well. I'd think a full moon or street lights would actually improve things from what I saw in total darkness. But then the Spiders from Mars move in and block the lens.

I'm more concerned about the cold weather operation...what is your experience with this, Woody1? Do they just crap out completely, or does the image degrade? Zmodo is telling me they work to -25f, but I'd like to hear some real world experiences.

tfmiller

I purchased a similar system a little over a year ago from Woot. As soon as the outside temps hit close to the freezing point, two of the cameras failed. They returned to "normal" as soon as the sun heated them up a bit.

The Zmodo tech told me that they should actually work to -40, FWIW. They did send me two replacement cameras within a day or two without charge and did not ask for the defective units in return.

I am happy to report that the cameras seemed to work quite well this past winter, even in sub-zero (F) temperatures. Again, YMMV.

eraie

tfmiller wrote:I purchased a similar system a little over a year ago from Woot. As soon as the outside temps hit close to the freezing point, two of the cameras failed. They returned to "normal" as soon as the sun heated them up a bit.

The Zmodo tech told me that they should actually work to -40, FWIW. They did send me two replacement cameras within a day or two without charge and did not ask for the defective units in return.

I am happy to report that the cameras seemed to work quite well this past winter, even in sub-zero (F) temperatures. Again, YMMV.

Thanks, tfmiller!

I was getting conflicting information from Zmodo...their website FAQs listed a meager -5f for the low end, one of their CSR agents also told me -5f; but on the other hand, all other product specs (and some other CSR agents I've spoken to) indicate -25f.

In my neck of the woods, -25f isn't too common, but we'll routinely have nights that dip into the minus teens. I made this purchase based on low temp performance...what good is a system if it only works in the summer, right?

Hopefully mine will make it through the cold winters ahead...I should probably stick them in the deep freezer to test them now, beats climbing a ladder at -25! :-)

taitrt

futurekill wrote:- I added a hard drive, formatted it, installed two cameras, and set them to motion record. The system records 100% of the time, all 8 channels. Including 6 channels that have no cameras connected. Support has no idea why this is.

Overall, it's a largely useless system.

When you configure the motion detection you cannot use the copy to all function for the cameras. The reason for this is that there is a trigger (motion) and an action (record camera X). When you use copy to all it will often activate the record on every camera when it detects motion on one. Easy fix though, just don't use the copy setting function.

Overall I find this DVR to be very high quality for the price. I previously had a zmodo 4 camera system and was constantly annoyed by the low quality motion detection. This camera's motion detection is fantastic and the remote playback interface is 1000x better than the previous model that I used.

PatentDude

thaburnin8or wrote:I rather enjoy the system for the money. Ironically enough, had a break in at my business 2 days after installing it. Added a 2TB hard drive to it. It was disconnected and thrown into a ditch (took quite a tumble)was able to find it, plug it in and watch the whole incident as if never taken from me. (america's dumbest criminals, complete mosquito) Overall the system works very well.

eraie

caderoux wrote:Thinking of getting this to augment or replace the system I have based on 2 Panasonic network cameras and a Linux server. The simpler wiring is appealing.

Is it correct that the dome cameras do not have PTZ?

What would be the advantage of one type of camera over the other if they are both fixed?

How flexible is the zmodo dvr to integrating with my network? Can I add scripts and programs to be able to do things like push notifications through my existing infrastructure? Is the Linux rootable?

The particular cameras in this bundle don't have PTZ nor audio, but you can add these on your own down the line...eg, the DVR has PTZ & audio capabilities if you ever end up needing it.

Only diff I can tell between these particular bullet & dome cams is: lower profile on the domes...less 'obtrusive' looking for some mounting applications (indoors, doorway, etc). The bullet rely on an adjustable mounting arm to attach them to a structure, and also have a sun shade/cover, although this seems to be where spiders like to live according to some users. Image-wise, I do not see any difference between the two types. IMO, the dome just looks like it belongs indoors or a well covered area, even though it's rated as weatherproof.

You can set the DVR to email notifications.

I am using cat5 cable & cctv baluns instead of the included wire...generally speaking, IMO, it's easier to drag virgin cat5 than the hassle of cutting bigger holes to accomodate a bnc & power connector. Cat5 also leaves me with some extra leads to be used with PTZ or audio should I ever add those types of camera...wouldn't have to do another cable run. The included cables aren't of the highest quality...thin and not shielded. Even a Zmodo tech confirmed this. They'll work, sure...but cat5 will be better (and let you go much further with baluns).

As for rooting...lol, hey where there's a will, there's a way...but I'd be way too worried about bricking the thing. It's so hard to know what is what with the boards & chipsets - I get the feeling there are so many variances of Zmodo 'guts' it's a real gamble trying to dump/root any of it. But that's just me.

dalem1984

I purchased one of these systems last time they were on Woot. I've spent a little time playing around with them, but haven't formally set up the entire system.

I'd like to point out a little bit of information that it seems woot and everyone else missed.

The data card that came with my system indicates that the dome cameras have 1/3" Sony CCD's with a 3.6mm lens and are SKU # CM-S22203BK featuring an 80 ft IR illumination range. In informal testing, these cameres seem to emit a much narrower and brighter IR beam. The bullet cameras have a 1/4" Sony CCD and a 6mm lens rated with a 65 ft IR range and are SKU CM-S12316SV

IMO, this combination of cameras works out pretty well because you can get a broader view with the dome cameras and focus on a particular area with the bullet cameras.

One other thing that I'd like to point out is the IR LEDs are near infrared - IE they emit a slight reddish glow that is noticeable in low light settings, which may be a drawback for some users.

eraie

dalem1984 wrote:I purchased one of these systems last time they were on Woot. I've spent a little time playing around with them, but haven't formally set up the entire system.

I'd like to point out a little bit of information that it seems woot and everyone else missed.

The data card that came with my system indicates that the dome cameras have 1/3" Sony CCD's with a 3.6mm lens and are SKU # CM-S22203BK featuring an 80 ft IR illumination range. In informal testing, these cameres seem to emit a much narrower and brighter IR beam. The bullet cameras have a 1/4" Sony CCD and a 6mm lens rated with a 65 ft IR range and are SKU CM-S12316SV

IMO, this combination of cameras works out pretty well because you can get a broader view with the dome cameras and focus on a particular area with the bullet cameras.

One other thing that I'd like to point out is the IR LEDs are near infrared - IE they emit a slight reddish glow that is noticeable in low light settings, which may be a drawback for some users.

You have different model # Sony CCD cameras. This bundle (same one I got last month on woot) are both Sharp 1/4" CCD's, 3.6mm

They ain't bad at all, and my tests show similar IR patterns (dome & bullet both Sharp 1/4" 3.6mm)...but if somebody asked me to pick, my first choice would probably be your Sony CCD (1/3") instead of the Sharp I got...

dalem1984

eraie wrote:You have different model # Sony CCD cameras. This bundle (same one I got last month on woot) are both Sharp 1/4" CCD's, 3.6mm

They ain't bad at all, and my tests show similar IR patterns (dome & bullet both Sharp 1/4" 3.6mm)...but if somebody asked me to pick, my first choice would probably be your Sony CCD (1/3") instead of the Sharp I got...

I purchased this model. Is that the same one you bought? The details seem to be the same, but my camera model numbers vary from what is (and was) posted. I also received (2) 50' cables and (2) 100' cables instead of (4) sixty footers.

BuzzLitebeer

I have a question before buying, can you access the camera images via Mjpeg or some other common compression or image refresh over the network?

I do some programming with IP cameras, and want a cheap set like this for my house to get used to more API's and such, I can't find any info describing the API... It sounds like it might be able to, as it is accessible via iphone, but I want to make sure.

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